Game Preview, Week 16: Philadelphia Eagles at Washington
December 19, 2025
by Steve Thomas
Washington finally got off the snide last week with a hard fought, and somewhat lucky, win against the Giants. The Philadelphia Eagles, of course, are at an entirely different level than the Giants, in that they are competing for playoff seeding and have lofty expectations of another Super Bowl run. On the other hand, Washington is only playing for pride – and for some fans, draft order – at this point in the season. Certainly, the players don’t care about draft order and want to win. Whether or not they can actually do that is another story. Washington has looked bad against almost every good team they’ve faced this year, so this game might not be different. We’ll see. For the sake of general franchise health, I hope Washington at least plays well, even if they don’t win. Our game preview begins below.
Game time & location: Saturday, December 21, 2025, 5:00 p.m. ET, Northwest Stadium, Raljon, gates open 2:00 p.m. ET; Red Zone parking lots open 12:00 p.m.; all other parking lots 1:00 p.m.
Television: FOX
Television announcers: Joe Davis (play-by-play), Greg Olsen (analyst)
TV broadcast map: Click here
DC-area radio: BIG-100 (WBIG FM)
Washington radio network: Click here
Eagles radio network: Click here
Satellite radio: SiriusXM: 225 (Wash. broad.); internet: 831
Washington roster: Click here
Washington depth chart: Click here
Eagles roster: Click here
Eagles depth chart: Click here
All-time head-to-head record vs Eagles: 89 – 86 – 6 (last 10: 3 – 7)
Last meeting: L, January 26, 2025, 23 – 55
Eagles record: 9 –5 (1st place) / away: 4 – 3 / NFC: 7 – 3 / NFC East: 2 – 2
Washington record: 4 – 10 (3rd place) / home: 2 – 4 / NFC: 2 – 7 / NFC East: 2 – 1
Early odds: Eagles, -7
3 KEYS TO THE GAME
Clean, mistake-free play on both sides of the ball
The Eagles may have lost some games that they should have won this year, but they are still the defending Super Bowl champions, and Washington has looked terrible against every good team they’ve played this year except for the Chargers. The only way Washington has a chance at getting a victory is to play mistake-free football on both offense and defense. The offense can’t have turnovers, drops, or an abundance of penalties to give Philadelphia easy outs from otherwise successful Washington drives. On defense, Washington can’t afford to blow coverages and give the Eagles easy long gains, and can’t leave giant holes for Saquon Barkley to get huge gains. I don’t necessarily think that’s going to happen, but that’s what needs to happen in order for Washington to have a chance at getting a victory.
Control the clock through the running game
Philadelphia’s offense actually has been more of a middle of the road unit this year, at least by their lofty standards. Nevertheless, this is a game in which Washington needs to keep the Eagles offense off the field through a strong, consistent, and effective running game. The good news is that the Eagles are fairly middle of the road in terms of run defense – their opponents are averaging 4.5 yards per carry. Washington is statistically a good run team, so this is something of a strength versus weakness matchup. In contrast, the Eagles are better at pass defense. Focus on the run game, Kliff.
Tight, layered zone pass defense
Washington obviously has lost a significant amount of their secondary to injury, and they have . . . deficiencies in their linebacker corps in terms of pass coverage. Nevertheless, Washington needs to figure out a way to lock down its pass coverage against an elite passing offense. Washington can’t afford to allow the Eagles to get easy gains through busted coverages and gaps in zones. They need to figure out how to lock down the vertical routes while simultaneously not allowing significant gains through screens and short passes. Good luck, Washington.
3 KEY MATCHUPS
Jonathan Jones or Antonio Hamilton vs. A.J. Brown
Brown is, of course, a 3x All Pro and 3x Pro Bowler, and is the heartbeat of the Eagles aerial attack. He’s not having a particularly great season by his lofty standards, with 62 receptions for 799 yards so far – DeVonta Smith actually has 64 receptions and 839 yards – but that doesn’t mean that he can’t have a monster game against Washington’s weakened secondary. The job of covering Brown will primarily fall to either Jones, if he plays this week, or Hamilton if he doesn’t. Hamilton did very well last week against the Giants, so it isn’t an automatic that Brown goes crazy if Jones isn’t on the field. Watch out for how open Brown is getting throughout the game.
This one may not seem intuitively obvious, but Jordan Davis is tied with Jalyx Hunt for second on the team in sacks with 4.5 and is also near the top in total tackles. For his part, Cosmi seems to be a success story in terms of his switch to guard, so while this matchup may be a bit on the lower profile side, it’s actually a pretty big battle. Watch out for how much pressure the Eagles can put on Washington’s quarterback (whether Daniels or Mariota), because if it’s substantial, it might be because Cosmi is losing his battle against Davis.
Terry McLaurin vs. Quinyon Mitchell
I recognize that I’ve already said that Washington needs to focus on its rushing attack in this game, but nevertheless, McLaurin versus Mitchell is a fairly high-profile matchup. Mitchell isn’t at an All-Pro or Pro Bowl level, yet, but he’s a talented corner and a legitimate #1. For his part, McLaurin is slowly getting back to his normal self after a season of injuries. McLaurin has at times been blanketed by top-level NFL corners, but while Mitchell is talented, he isn’t at that level. Therefore, I think this is going to be a good, balanced fight all day. I suspect that the television broadcast crew will highlight this matchup throughout the game.
OFFICIAL INJURY REPORT (active roster only)
LP – limited practice FP – full practice DNP – did not practice
NIR – not injury related Q – questionable O – out
D – doubtful
| Washington | Eagles |
| DT E. Goldman, concussion; Tue: DNP; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; game: O | DT J. Carter, shoulders; Tue: DNP; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; game: O |
| QB J. Daniels, left elbow; Tue: LP; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; game: O | G L. Dickerson, calf, NIR (rest); Tue: DNP; Wed: DNP; Thurs: FP |
| T L. Tunsil oblique; Tue: DNP; Wed: LP; Thurs: DNP; game: O | T F. Johnson, ankle; Tue: DNP; Wed: DNP ; Thurs: FP |
| TE C. Yankoff, ankle; Tue: DNP; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; game: O | T L. Johnson, foot; Tue: DNP; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; game: O |
| CB J. Jones, rib; Tue: FP; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; game: Q | TE C. Latu, stinger; Tue: DNP; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; game: Q |
| DT J. Newton, illness; Tue: NL; Wed: NL; Thurs: DNP; game: Q | RB S. Barkley, stinger; Tue: DNP; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP |
| T G. Fant, knee; Tue: FP; Wed; FP; Thurs: FP | LB Z. Baun, hand; Tue: FP; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP |
| DE D. Jackson, groin/knee; Tue: FP; Wed; FP; Thurs: FP | RB T. Bigsby, illness; Tue: LP; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP |
| Rb C. Rodriguez, groin; Tue: FP; Wed; FP; Thurs: FP | LB J. Phillips, knee; Tue: FP; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP |
| LB B. Wagner, knee; Tue: DNP; Wed: DNP; Thurs: FP | T C. Williams, shoulder; Tue: FP; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; game: Q |
Steve’s Prediction
The Eagles are too good, despite Washington’s improved play against the Giants. The Eagles win 27 – 17.